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April 02, 2006

How Opal Mehta Made Kaavya Rich

Harvard sophomore Kaavya Viswanathan's book "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life" is certainly making commercial gains:

If Opal Mehta needs to get a life, she can certainly take lessons from her creator, debut author/smart girl Kaavya Viswanathan. A sophomore at Harvard, Viswanathan snagged a two-book, $500,000 contract from Little, Brown at the tender age of 17. Opal Mehta, which has a first printing of 100,000 copies, has been optioned by DreamWorks.

I have not read this book since it seems to be geared toward the teen market. However, I can certainly see how the mix of pop culture and immigrant traditions makes it appealing. I think after "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," it is acceptable to be different thanks to your family. It also has that feel of a Cinderella or Makeover the Nerd story, which people like (heck, I think the most popular scene in "Pretty Woman" is when she goes shopping on Rodeo Drive and kicks up dust in designer heels)

Anyway, congratulations to Kaavya to hitting this off at an age when most Indian-American kids are trying to figure out how to tell their parents they want to change their major.

Posted by Ashini J. Desai at April 2, 2006 08:13 AM

Comments

It would seem to me that Harvard would educate Kaavya Viswanathan about outright plagiarism:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12477624

Posted by: rdwilliamsjr [TypeKey Profile Page] at April 25, 2006 11:14 AM

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